Wasatch Behind: Steering the ship of state

The election is over and the voice of the people has been heard. Democrats have a new majority in congress.George Bush got what Bill Clinton got in 1994. Mutineers have seized the rudder of the ship of state. The people are demanding a change of direction.

So far, President Bush seems to have gotten the message. He made secretary of defense Rumsfeld walk the plank the day after the elections, and he had tea and crumpets with Nancy Pelosi in the rose garden.

Other members of the Bush administration might soon jump ship or be thrown overboard. Only time will tell how this shift in politics will affect our lives and our future.

President Bush has two more years as captain of the ship, but not all of the people in the pilothouse will be members of his crew. There will surely be contention over compass bearings and navigational charts. Will our future ship of state be a battle cruiser, a target vessel, or a carnival cruise? We can only guess.

Today more than ever, we need a pilot to help us navigate the rocky shoals. In the interests of staying afloat, I have asked Uncle Spud to do the honors. Here is our course over troubled waters as prescribed by the most patriotic old geezer I know.

We should invite God back into our schools and our government. Atheists can worship tolerance and diversity if they don't want to participate.

Whatever it takes, our nation must win the War on Terror. The jihadists will keep attacking us until we prevail. Why wait? In the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy, "Let's git'er done." Let's do it before they have nuclear bombs. Things will only get more difficult the longer we wait.

We absolutely must become energy independent. If we can't drill in the wilderness, let's go for oil shale, coal gasification, and lots more nuclear power plants. If world strife is really all about oil, let the Arabs keep theirs.

America is losing our heavy industries. We need to keep steel plants and manufacturing companies here. We couldn't have won World War II with a service industry economy. Colonel Sanders was a great guy, but I'd rather have General Electric and General Motors in my army.

We must plug the holes in our borders and stop the flood of illegal immigration. They might do menial jobs for low wages, but we can't afford them, and we don't know who we are letting in.

We need to stop all the bi-lingual and "diversity" crap and become one nation under God again. Celebrating a cultural heritage is great, but if you want to live here, be an American or go back where you came from.

We need to teach (demand) good manners, self-discipline, and respect for authority in our schools. A dress code and a basic measure of classroom discipline would help. From what we see on the street, our schools are becoming zoos.

We need to reinstate the draft. Defending our country should be an obligation, not an option.

There should be a price to pay for citizenship. Things that are free hold little value for most of us. Every young person should be required to give a year of military duty or public service to the country. They could serve as social workers, public works employees, hospital and care center volunteers, youth program assistants, etc.

We need to equalize the income tax burden. Everyone should pay 10 percent of gross income with no deductions and no exceptions.

We need to revisit laws governing eight-hour workdays with weekends off. Too many companies are requiring employees to work 12-hour shifts. Perhaps it's time for a new labor movement in this country.

There are other things that need fixing too, but this list is a good start. Because they've both pledged to do what is best for our country, I will expect Mr. Bush and Ms. Pelosi to have these changes made right away.